The St. James City Council held a public hearing on Aug. 31 to determine the 2026 property tax rates and passed an ordinance that approved staying the same as the current year.

Under newly passed Ordinance No. 26-1326, the city voted to levy property taxes at a total combined rate of $0.7131 per $100 of assessed valuation for 2026. The total rate is divided among three separate levies: general revenue, parks and recreation, and the library. At the meeting, aldermen conducted a first and second reading of the ordinance and unanimously voted to adopt it.

The property tax rates for 2026 are: $0.3748 per $100 of assessed valuation for general revenue; $0.0585 per $100 for parks and recreation; and $0.2798 per $100 for the library.

The new property tax rates are the same as the previous year’s rates. The tax rate is applied to a property’s assessed valuation, rather than directly to its market value. Assessed valuations for tax purposes are determined by county assessors. For example, a property with a $50,000 assessed valuation would owe $356.55 under the city’s combined $0.7131 rate, before accounting for taxes imposed by other taxing entities like counties, states and the federal government.

The public hearing and proposed ordinance are part of the city’s annual process for establishing its property tax levies.

St. James City Administrator Leeann DeMouche said that approving tax levies is a routine yearly housekeeping process for city governments, and that there is no difference from last year’s tax rates.

“Nothing is different,” DeMouche said. “This is a requirement that is mandated by the county. The tax assessor at the county contacts (St. James) and we receive the property tax levy. It’s a levy that tells us what our levy is from the county, and what our tax levy is going to be for property taxes.”

The city’s tax rate is determined by a county assessor based on the total assessed value of taxable property within the city limits. Last year, taxable property in St. James was valued at $45,560,248. In 2026, the value of taxable property increased to $45,641,533, which represents a 0.1784% increase in adjusted assessed valuation.

The calculation allows the city to collect additional tax revenue as a result of the reassessment. However, the City Council left the rates unchanged, leaving them below authorized maximums.

Based on the voter-approved property tax rates, the maximum authorized rate listed for general revenue is $1 per $100 of assessed valuation, compared with the adopted rate at $0.3748. The parks and recreation levy has a maximum authorized rate of $0.10, compared with the current rate of $0.0585. The library’s maximum authorized rate is $0.30, compared with the proposed rate of $0.2798. Under the Constitution of Missouri’s Hancock Amendment, any potential tax increase would have to be put to a direct vote of the people.

DeMouche said that while the rate at which property taxes are collected by the city of St. James will not change, residents could see an increase on their tax bill if the assessed value of their property increases.

“It can increase if your land value increases. The only way your property taxes would go up is if the value of your home or your business went up,” DeMouche said. “What happens is, they take the total value (of a property), and then they multiply it by that tax number – that levy – and that is what you pay in taxes,” DeMouche said.